abstract: Characteristics of medication errors with parenteral cytotoxic drugs

Abstract:
Characteristics of medication errors with parenteral cytotoxic drugs

"Errors involving cytotoxic drugs have the potential of being fatal and should therefore be prevented. The objective of this article is to identify the characteristics of medication errors involving parenteral cytotoxic drugs in Sweden.
A total of 60 cases reported to the national error reporting systems from 1996 to 2008 were reviewed.
Classification was made to identify cytotoxic drugs involved, type of error, where the error occurred, error detection mechanism, and consequences for the patient.
The most commonly involved cytotoxic drugs were fluorouracil, carboplatin, cytarabine and doxorubicin. The platinum-containing drugs often caused serious consequences for the patients. The most common error type were too high doses (45%) followed by wrong drug (30%). Twenty-five of the medication errors (42%) occurred when doctors were prescribing. All of the preparations were delivered to the patient causing temporary or life-threatening harm. Another 25 of the medication errors (42%) started with preparation at the pharmacies. The remaining 10 medication errors (16%) were due to errors during preparation by nurses (5/60) and administration by nurses to the wrong patient (5/60). It is of utmost importance to minimise the potential for errors in the prescribing stage. The identification of drugs and patients should also be improved."

abstract: Predictors of prescription errors involving anticancer chemotherapy agents (note: carboplatin)

Blogger's note: stats removed for ease of reading

Aim

The majority of medication errors that harm patients relate to the prescribing process. Our study aimed to identify the predictors of prescription errors involving anticancer chemotherapy agents.

Methods

All consecutive antineoplastic prescriptions from June 2006 to May 2008 were analysed, with medication errors being captured. Potential risk factors for medication prescribing errors were defined in relation to the patient, chemotherapy regimen and hospital organisation. The relationship between these risk factors and observed medication errors or dose medication errors was assessed by univariate and multivariate logistic-regression analyses.

Results

Among the 17,150 chemotherapy prescriptions, 540 contained at least one error (3.15%). The following independent predictors of risk of medication errors were identified: patients with a body surface area , protocols with more than three drugs , protocols involving carboplatin, protocols requiring at least one modification by the physician, inpatient care  and prescriptions by a resident physician. The risk of medication dose prescribing errors was significantly associated with three independent factors: protocols involving carboplatin  protocols with more than three drugs and protocols requiring at least one modification.

Conclusion

In this epidemiologic study, the independent risk factors identified should be targeted for preventive measures in order to improve anticancer agent prescriptions and reduce the risk of medication errors.

Analysis of Australian newspaper coverage of medication errors

Conclusion
Australian newspaper reporting of medication errors was relatively limited. Given the high prevalence of errors and the potential role consumers can play in identifying and preventing errors, there is a clear argument for increasing public awareness and understanding of issues relating to medication safety. Existing coverage of this issue is unrelated to research evidence. This suggests the need for patient safety researchers and advocacy groups to engage more strongly with the media as a strategy to increase the productive public discourse concerning medication errors and gain support for evidence-based interventions.